Public defenders short on resources

Warren County Public Defender Tom Siegel discusses the numerous significant challenges of the occupation, challenges that are seen not only at a local and state level, but also a national one.

Andy Bell-Baltaci Review Atlas

MONMOUTH — Life for a public defender has its challenges, according to Tom Siegel, who has been the head public defender in Warren County since 2006.

The main difference between private attorneys and public attorneys is a matter of choice. Private attorneys get to decide which cases and clients they represent, while public attorneys do not. When the presiding judge determines a client is indigent, he will assign the case to a public defender.

Siegel says as the head public defender, he typically gets appointed to represent clients with more serious charges against them, like felonies and misdemeanors. His alternate, Tom Pepmeyer, usually works DUI and traffic cases.

According to Brennan Center for Justice, “60 to 90 percent of criminal defendants need publicly-funded attorneys.”

After graduating Northern Illinois University Law School in 2002, Siegel worked as a private attorney from 2003-2006, but said he transitioned into being what is called a “contract public defender” afterwards. Contract public defenders are somewhat different than non-contract public defenders in the boundaries of their work and the pay-scale. Siegel says that while non- contract public defenders can earn “no less than 90 percent of what the state’s attorney makes,” contract public defenders are given a flat rate based on their contract with the county which is much less than that 90 percent figure.

“There’s a significant workload,” Siegel said. “The clients are difficult. I don’t get to choose the clients. If someone wants to hire me as private council I can decline. As a public defender they’re stuck with me, and I’m stuck with them.”

Siegel also says that in his experience, often a client will take him for granted because he comes at no cost to that client.

Judge Scott Shipplett, who has worked on the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Galesburg for 10 years, was — except for a brief interim position —Siegel’s predecessor. Before going into public defense, Shipplett was a bankruptcy lawyer, which he said lent itself to the field in that he was representing people who had limited resources.

Shiplett said clients are tougher on public defenders than they are on private attorneys.

“When people get free attorneys they seem to want the O.J. Simpson defense, and think ‘if I had a private defender I could beat the case, while with a public defender I have no prayer,’ which usually means they’re guilty,” Shipplett said. “It’s socially and emotionally draining, clients are after you, they’ll say you’re not a real attorney.”

Contract public defenders often are not given the same resources as non-contract ones. For example, contract public defenders often work in poorer counties and don’t have their own offices. They are also allowed to take on private cases — unlike non-contract public defenders — in order to compensate for the pay gap.

Warren County has had a contract public defender since “Gideon vs. Wainwright” gave all defendants the right to representation in 1963.

Understaffing is also a significant issue and a reason why Siegel says he works an average of 70 hours a week compared to the 25-hour weekly average for a non-contract public defender. Siegel also says he works overtime because he currently has zero staff members. He adds, non-contract public defenders have an assistant state’s attorney, secretarial staff, a receptionist, “and at least one person who does work with documents.”

“There is a lack of resources provided to public defenders,” Siegel said. “It makes it difficult to do a good job.”

Siegel says he has no choice but to work those long hours in order to “to make sure the work is done right.”

“As a contract public defender you are pretty much on your own in terms of resources,” Shipplett said. “You don’t get a lot of extra money.”

A recent statute, which takes effect on January 1, will require public defenders to be present at bail hearings (not previously required), which will lengthen the amount of time they are required to work each case.

So why did Siegel go from being a full-time private attorney to a contract public defender?

“It has some advantages,” Siegel said. “Criminal defense attorneys appearing the most in cases are public defenders. I have more opportunities for trials, more face-time with judges with the value of experience ... It was an opportunity that came up and I wanted to build experience and a reputation.”

He hopes that full-time experience will help him become a successful and highly-regarded private attorney. In the meantime, he is a part of two panels, one the Illinois Public Defender Association, and the other The Illinois Council of Chief Defenders, both of which discuss the predicaments that occur in public defense.

In the panels, he and other public defenders discuss issues like lack of funding, lack of specialty courts (like veterans court, drug court, and mental health courts), which makes it difficult for clients who don’t have the means to travel, and how to work with limited resources.

While Siegel says his caseload is manageable, he knows of public defenders who have asked to be pardoned from certain cases due to an overload of casework, only to have those requests denied. According to a report by The Atlantic, “until recently in New Orleans, public defenders assigned to misdemeanor courts each had upward of 19,000 cases per year, affording them an average of seven minutes for every client. Some detainees end up staying in jail waiting for attorneys longer than the potential sentences for the crimes they were accused of.”

Shipplett says it is difficult to be a public defender for the length of a career and recommends public defenders learn other areas like the art of negotiation and social work in order to broaden their horizons.

“I would advise all public defenders to also work in other areas of the law,” Shipplett said. “There are very few people who make a career out of public defense. It is a great place to learn techniques for social agents and trial attorneys but it’s really hard.”

Siegel said he is not hopeful that the state of public defense will improve anytime soon, nor will his pay, but his ambition to advance in his field drives him. As for those considering going into law school, he offered a piece of advice.

“If you’ve taken the time and have gone to law school you need to be willing to be challenged as a public defender,” Seigel said. “Overcoming those challenges is very rewarding, but it’s not for everyone.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Daily Review Atlas ~ 400 South Main Street, Monmouth, IL 61462 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service